The Sunday Mail
Flora Teckie A Bahá’í Perspective
IT is within the power of the youth to contribute significantly to shaping the societies of the coming decades. They have the potential to channel their energy, capacities and talents towards building a better society and advancement of civilisation.In a world where youths are increasingly left without moral guidance, where the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is being lost, only the power of the Word of God can regenerate the spiritual senses; guide our youth to acquire an upright character and to contribute towards the construction of a progressive and peaceful society.
The Word of God, as the Bahá’í Writings state, illumines the realm of thought and morals, “In our solar system, the centre of illumination is sun itself. … Likewise in the spiritual realm of intelligence and idealism there must be a centre of illumination, and that centre is the everlasting, ever-shining Sun, the Word of God. Its lights are the lights of reality which have shone upon humanity, illumining the realm of thought and morals, conferring the bounties of the divine world upon man.”
The most effective way to prepare the youth for the world they will inherit and to empower them to build a better world is by starting early, at the adolescence stage.
It is now becoming increasingly obvious that without proper education and guidance during adolescence, our children could easily go astray, even if throughout childhood they have received spiritual guidance. It is during the few years before the children reach the age of 15 that fundamental concepts about individual and collective life are formulated in their minds.
It is during adolescence stage that they opt either to align themselves with positive or negative forces in the society.
Many parents and teachers believe that this is a very difficult age, one of rebelliousness, irrationality and frivolity without looking to see whether the causes of such behaviour are inherent to the stage of growth of a child or are imposed by social environments and upbringing.
According to the Bahá’í Writings, “While global trends project an image of this group as problematic, lost in throes of tumultuous physical and emotional change, unresponsive and self-consumed, the Bahá’í community – in the language it employs and the approach it adopts – is moving decidedly in the opposite direction, seeing in junior youth instead altruism, an acute sense of justice, eagerness to learn about the universe and a desire to contribute to the construction of a better world.”
Teenagers in this age group, often referred to as junior youth, have special needs.
By developing their inherent intellectual and spiritual potential, they will not only become agents of change for their own generation, but will contribute greatly to the transformation of society.
It is important that they acquire professions and trades, which are necessary to the further progress of mankind and spiritual virtues that help foster justice, unity and peace in our societies.
Considering the great potential of the junior youth and their needs, the Bahá’í communities organise regular programmes for this age group.
Such programmes are intended to provide them with spiritual guidance in order to lay the foundations of a noble and upright character, to enable them to live in harmony and peace, and with understanding and respect for others, and to instil in them a commitment to serve the best interests of their community.
These programmes help youths analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and recognise the influence these forces have on their thoughts and actions. In addition to sharpening their spiritual perceptions and enhancing their lives, they also help channel their energy and talents towards the transformation of society, advancement of civilisation and the construction of a better world.
T is within the power of the youth to contribute significantly to shaping the societies of the coming decades. They have the potential to channel their energy, capacities and talents towards building a better society and advancement of civilisation.
In a world where youths are increasingly left without moral guidance, where the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is being lost, only the power of the Word of God can regenerate the spiritual senses; guide our youth to acquire an upright character and to contribute towards the construction of a progressive and peaceful society.
The Word of God, as the Bahá’í Writings state, illumines the realm of thought and morals, “In our solar system, the centre of illumination is sun itself. … Likewise in the spiritual realm of intelligence and idealism there must be a centre of illumination, and that centre is the everlasting, ever-shining Sun, the Word of God. Its lights are the lights of reality which have shone upon humanity, illumining the realm of thought and morals, conferring the bounties of the divine world upon man.”
The most effective way to prepare the youth for the world they will inherit and to empower them to build a better world is by starting early, at the adolescence stage.
It is now becoming increasingly obvious that without proper education and guidance during adolescence, our children could easily go astray, even if throughout childhood they have received spiritual guidance. It is during the few years before the children reach the age of 15 that fundamental concepts about individual and collective life are formulated in their minds.
It is during adolescence stage that they opt either to align themselves with positive or negative forces in the society.
Many parents and teachers believe that this is a very difficult age, one of rebelliousness, irrationality and frivolity without looking to see whether the causes of such behaviour are inherent to the stage of growth of a child or are imposed by social environments and upbringing.
According to the Bahá’í Writings, “While global trends project an image of this group as problematic, lost in throes of tumultuous physical and emotional change, unresponsive and self-consumed, the Bahá’í community – in the language it employs and the approach it adopts – is moving decidedly in the opposite direction, seeing in junior youth instead altruism, an acute sense of justice, eagerness to learn about the universe and a desire to contribute to the construction of a better world.”
Teenagers in this age group, often referred to as junior youth, have special needs.
By developing their inherent intellectual and spiritual potential, they will not only become agents of change for their own generation, but will contribute greatly to the transformation of society.
It is important that they acquire professions and trades, which are necessary to the further progress of mankind and spiritual virtues that help foster justice, unity and peace in our societies.
Considering the great potential of the junior youth and their needs, the Bahá’í communities organise regular programmes for this age group.
Such programmes are intended to provide them with spiritual guidance in order to lay the foundations of a noble and upright character, to enable them to live in harmony and peace, and with understanding and respect for others, and to instil in them a commitment to serve the best interests of their community.
These programmes help youths analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and recognise the influence these forces have on their thoughts and actions. In addition to sharpening their spiritual perceptions and enhancing their lives, they also help channel their energy and talents towards the transformation of society, advancement of civilisation and the construction of a better world.
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